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New chief justice pitches marriage before children

Georgia supreme court

Posted: Thursday, July 14, 2005

By Associated Press

ATLANTA - The first black woman ever to lead the highest appeals court in any state said Wednesday that she is setting up a commission to examine the welfare of families because domestic cases like divorces and child custody fights are clogging up Georgia's court system.

"We need to do a better job of getting married and staying married," said Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Sears, who took the office just two weeks ago.

Sears, a divorced and remarried mother of two who founded the Battered Women's Project in Columbus, said she understands that people can't always stay married, but that more people should marry before having children.

When she was born in 1955, one in eight children were born out of wedlock, and now that ratio has risen to three in 10, Sears said during a luncheon speech before the Atlanta Press Club.

Sears also said continuing to make legal services available for the poor, particularly in civil cases, will be a priority while she is chief justice of the state's highest court.